Sulu Is the First Confirmed Gay Character in the Star Trek Universe

The Star Trek franchise has always been a trailblazer, in both its depiction of futuristic technology and its progressive take on social issues. Now, they are breaking ground once again, and finally adding an LGBT character to the new cinematic universe.

In Star Trek Beyond, John Cho's Sulu will be openly gay. According to a report from the Herald Sun, the film will try to reflect a socially progressive future by treating his sexuality as perfectly normal and accepted.

"I liked the approach, which was not to make a big thing out it," said Cho, "which is where I hope we are going as a species, to not politicize one's personal orientations."

The decision was made by co-screenwriter and star Simon Pegg, who intended Sulu's sexuality not only as a diversifier, but as a tribute to George Takei, who played Sulu in the original series. Takei was forced to keep his orientation a secret while working on Star Trek, but has since become an outspoken activist for LGBT rights.

"If I wanted to work as an actor I had to keep it a secret," Takei told News Corp last year. "Back then I couldn't marry a white person - that was against the law here, miscegenation. But now I am married to a white dude so we have changed."

Star Trek has often been noted for its utopian depiction of tolerant future societies, as well as breaking barriers for oppressed groups. The original series was hailed for its unusually multiracial cast, and in 1968 depicted the first high-profile interracial kiss on US television. Now, it is one of the first blockbusters to have an openly gay person as one of the main characters, and hopefully other major movie franchises (Marvel, DC, Star Wars, etc) will follow suit. It's been generally accepted that major blockbusters won't have gay characters so they don't alienate international audiences, but maybe now that the times are changing, we'll finally get to see those Stucky and Finn/Poe romances fans have been clamoring for.